The Warriors of Time
by SapphireStar9
Summary: I finally got this up! Basically about a new set of cards, the Planetary Cards, that appear...and Sakura can't capture them! Of course, there's an evil chick running amuck, ruining things, and Tomoyo & Eriol being evil and setting up S S...good times!
1. A New Set of Cards?

The Warriors of Time

Yay! My first fic! I finally got the inspiration! Finding the time, however, may be a totally different story, but we'll just see how that goes and hope for the best.  Right? Right! K; basic information ya gotta know: Sakura and Syaoran haven't confessed their undying love for each other yet, yadda yadda yadda, and Syaoran never went home to Hong Kong; but you'll find out more about that later…I think.  Oh, and they're all around 16 or 17, just to spice things up a bit.  Okay, so, on with the show! (on with the…SHOW!  There's no business like show business like no business I know…..it's from a musical….yeah…shutting up…)

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own CCS? For that matter, would I be writing **fanfictions** if I owned CCS? Of course not! This would be part of the show! So leave me alone…no suing, people; trust me, I'm totally broke, so ya wouldn't get nothin' anyways.

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The moonlight shone brightly through the open window, a slight breeze rustling the curtains and breathing fresh air into the room.  Illuminated in the moon's glow was a girl, looking to be around 16 years of age.  Wisps of brown hair nestled against her face, and all seemed peaceful and serene to the man who glanced in on his sleeping daughter.  

Fuji-taka softly closed the door, wondering, with a slight smile on his face, how this peaceful girl could possibly be the same one he met every morning, rushing down the stairs and hurrying out the door, late for school.  He moved quietly down the hall and went to bed, content in the knowledge that his daughter was sleeping peacefully. A more observant person, however, would have noticed the slight frown that crossed her face, and a magical person would have noticed the electrifying tension in the room, and the slightly worried feeling her aura held.

***~*~SAKURA*~*~**

_Where am I? What am I doing here?_

A vast black expanse surrounded her, reaching as far as the eye could see. She reached out in her mind, hoping to feel something, some tiny pinprick of life; but hollow emptiness met her instead. She gazed around, becoming aware of…something, though she wasn't sure what at first.  Slowly, thousands of small white spheres began to glow all around her, and 9 larger spheres, of all colors and sizes, revealed themselves.

The stars! And the planets! But…I still don't understand… 

The Sun, glowing so brightly that it hurt her eyes to look at it, formed in the center of it all, and all the planets began to revolve around it. 

It's like a perfect model of the Solar System…complete with the Milky Way and everything!  But…what's forming over the planets? 

Over each planet, a card began to appear.  

Clow Cards!  

Sakura reached out to grasp one, but as soon as her fingers got close, she was roughly thrown back.  Suddenly, she felt something evil….something whose aura was completely black.  A terrible cackling laugh filled the expanse of space, and terror crept into her heart.  

FOOLISH GIRL!  YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AGAINST ME! 

Sakura looked up from where she had been thrown, and saw the black shadow of a woman, coming closer to her….

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-

"Ugh! Stupid alarm…it's too early," mumbled Sakura, groggily rubbing her eyes as she picked up her alarm from where she had knocked it to the floor. {SS: I hate mornings…waking up before 10 should be against the law} 

"So tired….want to sleep…nice bed…Sakura like bed…" Rolling over and muttering incoherently, she was just drifting off again when she suddenly remembered her dream. _So much for going back to sleep_…_That was such a weird dream!_  And considering that chasing crazy possessed slips of paper around on a flying wand in the middle of the night was considered perfectly normal, that was saying something.  Pulling her eyes open with great effort, she sat up and surveyed her room, looking for her little yellow guardian.

"Kero?" No answer.  "Kero?!" Still no answer.  

"Kero, don't make me get out of bed to find you…PLEASE don't do this to me….I REFUSE to get out of bed unless, somehow, God suddenly makes the temperature outside my bed 10 degrees warmer…" Sakura mumbled.  "Kami-sama, I hate mornings…"

God, however, seemed to have different plans regarding the temperature of her room, as Sakura discovered upon throwing back her blankets.  "IT'S SO COLD!" she wailed to no one in particular.  

"Huh? What're you yelling about, Sakura?" The small yellow beast fluttered out of his drawer, drowsily rubbing his eyes and muttering something about a great dream involving mountains of pudding and cake. "You woke me up from the greatest dream! There were-"

"Not now, Kero! I have to tell you about MY dream! YOURS can wait!"

"But, Sakura-"

"NO, Kero! Just 2 seconds, that's all I'm asking! Just listen for 2 seconds, it's important…PPPLLLLLEEEAAASSSSEEE?????" 

Sakura, having given Kero her infamous puppy dog look, soon won the argument, and proceeded to tell about her dream.

"I dunno, Sakura, that sounds really weird…12 Clow Cards? You caught them all already! Well, all the ones to be caught anyways…"

"What do you mean, Kero? There are more Clow Cards?"

"Well, yes, technically speaking.  But they were either left only half finished, or were never activated, or got stolen….there were some other small sets, and a few individual cards separate from the main deck, but they shouldn't have anything to do with you; they shouldn't ever be a problem.  I don't know why they showed up in your dream, but you'll need to keep a sharper lookout from now on, Sakura.  If one of these smaller sets has been activated, you'll have a job catching them…the smaller sets usually had more concentrated magic in them. Hey," said Kero, suddenly glancing at the clock, "don't you have school today?"

"HOE! I totally forgot! Oh, no, I'm gonna be so late!" Kero, chuckling to himself, watched Sakura's daily routine, whirling around the room like a tornado in the vain attempt to get ready for school on time.

"That's a new record time, Sakura!" shouted Kero as she rushed out her bedroom door.

"Thanks Kero…see ya later!"

Thundering footsteps and a quick "Arigatou for lunch, Otou-san! Bye!" was all the "good morning" that Sakura's father and her Onii-chan got as she rushed through the kitchen, grabbed her roller blades, opened the front door, and stared. {SS: (O.o)} And, finally, blushed.

"Uh, hi Syaoran…." 

***~*~Syaoran*~*~**

Off in dreamland, things had been going swell for Syaoran.  He'd been having that dream again where he finally told Sakura that he loved her, and was just at the point of kissing her, when something black flitted across his mind's eye.  It felt evil, but that was all he could tell.  Suddenly, he awoke with a start, and realized that someone's aura was extremely agitated; it didn't take more than a few seconds for him to realize that it was Sakura's.  He was just changing into his ceremonial robes, ready to run over to Sakura's house and play the role of her knight in shining armor, when her aura became peaceful again…well, from what he could tell anyways.  Glancing at the clock, he realized that it was time for him to get up for school, and decided, after getting ready, to go pick Sakura up and walk her to school.  Just in case.

The whole way over, he had rehearsed what he would say when he got there.  He would be cool, confident, pretend that picking her up and walking her to school was no big deal; after all, they'd been friends for years, right?

_Yeah, sure buddy, you know that **any** time spent alone with Sakura is a big deal._ As usual, his ever-helpful conscience chimed in, but before he had time to begin the never-ending mental battle, he realized that he was at Sakura's house. _It's no big deal, remember? …Yeah right.  Well, here goes._

He marched confidently up her front steps, but hesitated for a second as he heard those thundering footsteps inside.  Wondering what was going on, he had just reached for the doorbell; his finger was only centimeters away from pushing it; when the door flew open, and a hurried looking Sakura appeared.  For a few seconds, they stood staring at each other, both in complete shock.

"Uh, hi Syaoran…."

"Sakura! Um….ohayo…."  Blushing bright red, just like Sakura, Syaoran stood for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Good morning to you too, but what are you doing at my house so early?" inquired the curious Sakura, tilting her head slightly to the side as she sat down to put on her roller blades.

"I woke up last night, and I realized that your aura was really troubled….I was just wondering what had happened, and if you were ok…."

Sakura just smiled, thinking how sweet he was.  He was always looking out for her, even when she was sleeping.  

"Yeah, I'm fine; it was the weirdest thing, though; I had a really strange dream…." 

The walk to school {SS: well, for Syaoran ne-ways, since Sakura was roller blading…} was filled with talk about the dream, what Kero had told Sakura, and their own speculations of what it could possibly mean.

"I just don't understand it…" wondered Sakura, as she walked with Syaoran through the halls of their high school towards their first class.  "We should talk to Eriol and see what he makes of the situation."

"Eriol….."  Syaoran grimaced, thinking of their satanic friend.  "Yeah, unfortunately you're right…have you told Tomoyo about all of this yet?"

"Not yet….I'd rather avoid discussion of how kawaii I'll look in her new battle costumes for as long as possible…."

Syaoran glanced over at Sakura, chuckling softly to himself at the look on Sakura's face as she thought of the many battle costumes she would soon be forced into.

"On the other hand, Tomoyo will get over being miffed at me since I stole her camera and taped her and Eriol flirting….the idea of filming more captures should get me back into her good graces…"

They walked in silence for a minute, until Sakura continued on, "It's going to be so odd capturing cards again…I haven't had to worry about actually capturing them for…what? 4? 5 years? And Kero said that these ones are more powerful than the original Clow Cards…something about the magic being more concentrated….and I wish I knew more about this!" Frustrated, Sakura looked anxiously off into space, worrying about what these new cards would bring and how well she would be able to handle them.

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much….knowing our luck, we'll find out plenty about it soon enough."

"True that, true that….." 

Miraculously, nothing more abnormal than Sakura understanding the math lesson happened that day; until night fell, that is.

So, whatdoya think? Kinda boring, I know, but this was just the first chapter. Sorry for the slight cliffhanger, but you'll find out soon enough what's gonna happen.  Also, I plan to keep this interesting through all 12 card captures and the final battle (I do HOPE that you've figured out that that's where this is going…*GRIN*), and so any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  PLEASE review, even if it's to flame me; I need your feedback! *throws self dramatically over the arm of a chair* I can't live without your reviews!!!!!!!  Thanx for reading! Ta ta, dahlings!


	2. Explanations and Premature Wrinkles

The Warriors of Time

Howdy ya'll! I'm back with the second installment of our lovely little story here, The Warriors of Time!  Hmmm…let me ponder for a minute…yep, I think I said all the important intro stuff in the last chapter! OH, and arigatou to those of you who read this, and ESPECIALLY to anyone who reviewed.  Keep 'em coming, folks! Alrighty then, here goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, except for the evil freaky lady from the dream in chapter one, which doesn't matter ne-ways since nobody knows about her yet.  

'Nuff said.

EXPLANATIONS AND PREMATURE WRINKLES

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It was the end of what had been a very long school day, and Sakura wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nice long nap.  But, of course, duty called.  Sakura had let Eriol and Tomoyo in on her dream during lunch, but they really hadn't had any time to discuss what it could all mean.  And so, as was typical for Sakura, she found herself heading over to Tomoyo's house after school so that they could all talk.

Once they were all situated in Tomoyo's room with buttered popcorn and some cokes, {SS: Yummy!} Sakura turned toward Eriol and Kero, who had flown over.

"OKAY, now that we're all here, please enlighten us you two."

Eriol and Kero glanced at each other, and after what Sakura assumed was a quick telepathic chat, proceeded.

***~*~Eriol*~*~**

"Well, Kero here already told you that there were other cards, or sets of cards, apart from the Clow cards that you have, right Sakura?"  At her nod, he continued.  In a shaky, quavering voice, he imitated an old man, saying, "Back in my day, before you young 'uns were even born-" 

"ERIOL! Be serious!"

"Alright, alright, just trying to lighten the mood a bit…Anyway, back when I was Clow Reid, I discovered, after making the Clow Cards, that, useful as they are, there were many things that they couldn't do…for example, communication or travel between planets," and seeing the groups' surprised and doubtful looks, he added, "which IS possible with the right spell.  I had found it easier to channel my magic when using the cards, however, and so I proceeded to create other cards to fulfill these other magical purposes."

"Many of these cards or sets took me ages to complete.  Since the things they were being created to do, such as inter-planetary communication, took a great deal of strength and magic even with the spell, it sometimes took me years to complete a card, since so much magic was required."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Sakura.  "So, you're saying that it took a ton of magic to create these cards, since the things they were meant to do took so much magic?"

"Precisely.  Now, back to your dream.  You said that there were the planets, with the sun in the middle, and that they all moved like a perfect model, correct?" 

"Yes."

"And then Clow Cards formed over each of the planets…well, I can only think of one set that this could be: the Planetary Cards!" At everyone's blank looks, he added, "So I wasn't very creative when it came to naming my cards, so sue me…"

Sakura didn't seem to have caught the last remark, however; she seemed deep in thought.  With a confused face, she asked, "So, what do the Planetary Cards do? You said that each card, or deck, fulfilled some purpose that the Clow Cards didn't…what do they do?"

"Well, nothing by themselves.  You see, I was attempting to create a Time Travel card, but-"

"A TIME TRAVEL card? WOW….!"  Tomoyo had little stars in her eyes, and was looking at Eriol with wonder and awe.

"Yeah, well…." Blushing under her reverent gaze, Eriol looked away and once again concentrated on what he was saying.  "Let me give you a brief history of time travel before I continue.  Early magicians who tried to travel through time had many problems…when done correctly, the person traveling should end up in a totally different time, with all the planets and everything exactly the way it was **at that time**.  Many magicians would make mistakes, however, and something in the spell would get messed up…they would arrive at the desired time period, but something would go wrong…sometimes the planets were misaligned, sometimes the sun got left out…it resulted in lots of deaths for the magicians, and became a threat to the future, since whatever happens in the past affects the future.  So, when I tried it, I didn't want to leave my safety or the safety of the future up to the chance of my getting the spell right; creating the Planetary Cards was an assurance that nothing would go wrong."  Here Eriol took a huge breath, and continued on.

"So, back to the cards.  In order to travel through time, it is extremely important that you are able to control time everywhere, as I was just saying.  Well, everywhere within a single galaxy, anyway…it is dangerous to time travel without control, because it can mess up the cosmic balance of things…"

"…"

After thinking for a second, Syaoran spoke up.  "Wait a second…what did you mean by 'sometimes the sun got left out'? If you're traveling through time, shouldn't everything be the way it was at that time?  How could the sun get left out?"

"Ah, my little descendant, you're not nearly as bright as you pretend to be, are you?"  After Syaoran's angry, "HEY!", Eriol continued.  "The spell for time travel is meant to transport the person into whatever time they choose, obviously.  It's simple enough to understand, but extremely difficult to carry out.  Part of the spell involves gaining control over everything that will be in the time period you are traveling to.  So, if I wanted to travel back to 1950 here on Earth, I would need to control time on Earth, and also time on anything directly affecting Earth; namely, everything else in our Solar System.  This is what makes the spell so complex; there are so many things to keep in check all at once, that it is very easy to let one slip.  Many times, a magician would loose control over one or more of these things, and the results were disastrous.  I remember one story of a magician who lost control of Jupiter…he ended up going back to the middle ages in Europe, except that, since he had no control over Jupiter, it had ended up flying out of orbit and smashing into Earth…let me tell you, every magician within a 1000 mile radius was here trying to correct that mistake so it didn't alter the future."

Everyone in the group shuddered, thinking of the dangers involved.  Finally, Sakura asked, "Okay, I think I understand it so far…but what do the Planetary Cards have to do with all that?"

"Well, they allowed me to control time on every planet.  The Planetary Cards were meant to be used with the Time Travel card; on their own, they really don't do anything.  Their only purpose is to control time on the different planets so that, when used with the Time Travel card, everything is controlled and there is full compliance from everything being affected.  Controlling all the planets doesn't really change anything, it merely makes it safe and a LOT easier for the people traveling through time."

"I told you that, when using the spell, the magician needs to keep control over everything all at once, while also trying to concentrate on actually traveling through time.  The idea with the Planetary Cards was that they would ensure control over everything, so that the magician would be able to concentrate on using the Time Travel Card.  They just make things a lot easier."

Sakura's eyes had a glazed look to them, and she muttered, "Hoe…"

Eriol smiled again. "Here, let me summarize. The Planetary Cards were created to aide the Time Travel Card, so that everything is kept under control for the magician, making it safe for the people trying to travel."

Sakura's emerald eyes lit up with understanding.  "Oh! I get it!"

Syaoran merely glared. "And please tell us WHY you couldn't have just said that in the beginning?"

"Because I just love complicating your life, my cute little descendant."

Kero, who had been listening the whole time, spoke up.  "There's still some things ya gotta know, if you're really gonna be capturing these cards.  First of all, they're powerful; way more powerful than the original Clow Cards.  Also, their power is directly proportionate to the size of whatever they control; for example, the Space card is the most powerful, and the Pluto is the weakest.  Some of the cards have powers involving the elements, whereas others have control over emotions..." Here he winked at Syaoran and Sakura. "…which should make the Venus card an interesting catch, assuming it controls love…"

Eriol smirked evilly as he watched both Sakura and Syaoran blush madly, but the pillow fight that soon broke out, with the first two being aimed at himself and Kero, soon distracted him from what he had been going to say.

***~*~Sakura*~*~**

Since it was a Friday, and summer vacation was only a few weeks away, Sakura's Otou-san had allowed her to spend the night at Tomoyo's house.  What with all the confusing new information that Eriol had told them, Sakura was infinitely grateful for the chance to sort it all out with her best friend.

"I'm still kinda confused about all of it…" admitted Sakura later that night after the boys had left.  "Of course, I've learned the hard way that sometimes, with Eriol, it's better to just smile and nod when it comes to this kind of thing…"

Tomoyo grinned in understanding.  Her eyes began to shine with excitement, however, as she suddenly thought of something.  "OOOHHHH, think of all the kawaii outfits I'll be able to make you though!  A whole new set of battle costumes, oh Sakura, this is going to be great! I've got SO many ideas!  There's one that's got puffy pink sleeves, with a really cute little skirt, and…."

Sakura rolled her eyes, giving the ceiling an exasperated look.  Oh, dear, here we go again… 

The sleepover proved to be just what Sakura's confused mind needed.  After a movie, some games, and a great sugar high, the two girls were ready to crawl into bed, eat their ice cream, and stay up half the night talking.  Sakura went over to the window and looked outside, intending to shut the blinds for the night.  For 10 o'clock, it was still pretty light outside…_hhhmm_.  Well, it was almost summer, and it did stay light out much longer…_it's probably nothing_, thought Sakura, even though that nagging voice in her head was telling her otherwise.

After about an hour, it started to get hot. Really hot. 

The girls tossed and turned for a good half hour, their talk unable to distract them from the building heat.  After throwing off her light sheet in frustration, Tomoyo said, "This is SO weird!  I'm BOILING, and the air conditioner is going FULL BLAST! It never gets this hot, especially not at night!"  As if struck by a new thought, she said suddenly, "Hey, Sakura…you don't think this is a Clow Card, do you?"

"Urrghh…" was the intelligent response that came from Sakura's pillow.  She was lying in a short pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, and despite the previously mentioned air conditioner, she was still sweating.  "It's GOT to be…unless we're having some freak heat wave or something…and I DO sense a card, now that I think about it." Sakura's face appeared, with a thoughtful look on it, as she rolled over.  "Only…it doesn't feel quite the same…so I had just ignored it when I felt something earlier…."

"Maybe we should call Eriol!" Tomoyo sat up suddenly, with a hopeful look on her face.

Sakura just grinned.  "Yeah, good idea Tomoyo.  How about you call?  And then maybe, after we capture the card, you can invite him back here…I wouldn't mind going back home tonight…give you two some _alone_ time…"

Tomoyo just looked flustered.  "Sakura! I wasn't thinking anything like that!  It's just that he knows more about this than any of us do, and…um…"

"Yup, that's what I thought! I KNEW you liked-"  Sakura stopped short as she heard her cell phone ringing.  Picking it up, she answered, "Hello, this is Sakura…"

Tomoyo could just hear Syaoran's voice from where she was sitting, looking at Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura! Haven't you sensed that card?  Where are you?"

"Yes, I did, but I'm still at Tomoyo's; she was just begging me to call Eriol and tell him to meet us somewhere."

Tomoyo's indignant, "I WAS NOT!" was lost, however, as Syaoran replied, "He just called me; said to meet him at the park.  That seems to be where the most energy is coming from."

"Yeah; alright, Tomoyo and I will be over in a few minutes, k? Bye!"

"Bye Sakura!"

Glancing at Tomoyo, Sakura hurriedly stated, "I'm sorry, Tomoyo, but we haven't got time for a battle costume!  We need to get going as soon as possible; we've spent too long chatting.  And anyway, it's so hot that I don't think I could handle one right now."

"But I could make it really cool! Cool as in temperature-wise, Sakura!"

"Come ON, Tomoyo…" pleaded Sakura as she slipped on a pair of white canvas tennis shoes.  Seeing the disappointed look on her best friends face, however, she stopped and gave Tomoyo a quick hug.  "I promise that next time, I'll wear whatever you want me to; you can make it as extravagant as you want, and I won't complain once, ok?"

Smiling with a slightly devious look in her eyes, Tomoyo responded with a simple, "K!"  

_I'm going to live to regret that promise_…thought Sakura, seeing Tomoyo's look.  _Oh well, nothing I can do about it now_…

Once Tomoyo had thrown on a pair of shoes and grabbed her camera, Sakura used the fly card to transform her staff, and the two girls took off from the small balcony outside of Tomoyo's bedroom.

If it had been hot before, it was nothing compared to what the girls were feeling now.  Out in the open, under the bright sun, it was positively boiling.  Even the breeze that whipped through their hair was hot and hard to breathe.  Once again, Sakura thought how thankful she was not to be in a costume…her pink spaghetti-strap tank top -which, though maybe a tad bit low in the front, fit her nicely- coupled with her short, loose, red drawstring shorts, was much cooler than just about anything else she could possibly wear.

"This is craziness…absolute madness…" stated Sakura.  "Even though it's almost midnight, this feels just like flying in broad daylight!"

"Well, you essentially ARE," pointed out Tomoyo from behind Sakura.

Suddenly, Tomoyo gasped.

"What is it?" asked Sakura anxiously, turning to look at her friend.

"Sunscreen!" wailed Tomoyo.  "Oh, my skin's gonna get all dry and gross-looking…how could I possibly forget sunscreen?" 

"Tomoyo…don't you TAN?"

"Well, yes, but I still always put on at least SPF 15…I DON'T WANT TO BE UGLY AND WRINKLY BY THE TIME I'M 30!!!!"

Sakura just sighed, relieved to see the park up ahead.  "Look, Tomoyo, we're almost at the park…maybe you can find some shade under a tree or something, and camp out there until the card is caught."

It was obvious that two of Tomoyo's greatest passions- filming Sakura's captures and fashion, which would include having good skin- were battling for superiority from the many looks flitting across her face.  Finally, it seemed that one had won.  "What, and miss all those great camera shots? I don't think so!  OH!" yelled Tomoyo, suddenly distracted as they landed.  "Look, Sakura, that isn't a wrinkle, is it? Oh, no, I'm getting premature wrinkles! Oh, what a world, what a world…" 

Despite Sakura's many reassurances that it was NOT a wrinkle, Tomoyo thought it best to seek the shelter of a tree until the actual card capturing began.  

Eriol and Syaoran were waiting for the girls beside a fountain, which, though still working, didn't look nearly as cool and refreshing as usual.  The heat was beginning to affect everything, as Sakura soon noticed: flowers were wilting, the grass was starting to slowly turn brown, and everything began to look very dull and dreary.  

"Hey…Kami-sama, it's SO HOT!" exclaimed Sakura, once she had come up to the guys.

Eriol, after a curious glance in Tomoyo's direction, asked, "Why is Tomoyo all the way over there?"

"Oh, she's worried about wrinkles…" Seeing the boys' confused faces, she quickly added, "It's a long story."  

***~*~Syaoran*~*~**

Syaoran, who would usually have been one of the first to greet Sakura, had been oddly quiet during this whole conversation.  In truth, however, his powers of speech had been momentarily rendered useless as he gazed at Sakura.  _If this is what Tomoyo's new costumes are going to look like, then I think I'm really going to enjoy capturing these cards!_

Of course, after a minute, he realized that the form-fitting tank top and the short shorts were just Sakura's pajamas; which, consequently, made him blush even more than he had before.  Fortunately for Syaoran, the heat was making all of them flush red, and his blush was covered.

Of course, I can't blame her really…it's too hot to wear much of anything…even **I'm** not wearing my ceremonial robes…

It really was too hot to wear much in the way of clothing.  Syaoran, though in dark green pajama pants, was wearing a muscle shirt, which Sakura was quick to note.  Despite their light clothing, however, they were all sweating like crazy, and seemed anxious to catch the card and be done with it.

"So, do either of you know which card this is?" asked Sakura, shading her eyes as she looked at the two boys.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that this is the Sun card," replied Eriol, with a glance at their surroundings.

"Alright, then, let's go and-"  Here, Sakura was interrupted by Kero, who, looking thoroughly exhausted, suddenly flew right up to Sakura, and flopped into her arms.

Syaoran just gave Kero a look.  Oh great, the stuffed animal has arrived… 

"I'm sooo hot…I figured you guys would be here…" {SS: He was still at Sakura's house, remember everyone? * GRIN *} Kero was panting and sweating worse than all the rest of them.  "I tell ya, a fur coat is like torture on a day like this…"

"A NIGHT like this," corrected Syaoran, though no one was really listening.

"Oh, poor Kero!" Sakura was immediately all sympathy, and the small group moved over to a shady spot that Tomoyo had found under a tree.

"You have to be careful out there Sakura," warned Kero, who seemed to have recovered slightly.  "I told you that these cards are more powerful than the Clow Cards; but on top of that, this is the Sun Card we're dealing with."

Syaoran grimaced as he caught on.  "And you told us that a cards' power is relative to the size of what it represents, right stuffed animal?  Which would make the Sun Card pretty powerful, since the Sun is, in reality, so huge."

"That's right, brat."  Both deciding that it was just too hot for a glaring contest at the moment, they let their mutual insults rest for the time being.  

"Other than that, though, it's just like a normal Clow Card, right?" Sakura glanced worriedly towards Eriol, and then down at Kero, who was still in her arms.

"Yup…it'll be difficult, but we'll help you Sakura!" Kero tried to look energetic, but failed utterly.

"NO, Kero, you look exhausted, I want you to wait right here.  What use are you going to be if you get heat stroke?  Please just stay here where it's safe!" Although Kero protested many times, it was to no avail, and in the end, he had to content himself with watching the battle from the shade of the tree.

Finally ready, Sakura stepped forward, with Syaoran behind her on one side and Eriol on the other.  The fight for the Sun Card had begun.

Well, that was fun!  And, in the exciting next chapter, Sakura battles with the Sun Card! I'm excited for the next chapter, because I get to reveal something very fun and interesting!  Yay for you! Wow, I'm using lots of exclamation marks! Oh well! * Glances at clock * HOLY MACKAREL! It's really late! And I mean REALLY late! As in 2:30 in the morning late!  Ah, well, it's summer, and I don't get up till 12 ne-ways…well, night folks! OH! And please please pplllleeeaaassseee……REVIEW! Thanx!


	3. It's Getting Hot in Here

**The Warriors of Time**

Hello again!  Wow, I'm so impressed, I started this chapter right after finishing Chapter 2!  Golly gee, I'm just so gosh darn…punctual!  K, enough of that…well, I think that's it, so here goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, except for the one lady from Sakura's dream in chapter 1, but you don't know her yet.  And ne-ways, I'm nothin' but an out-of-work high school student…you wouldn't get anything from suing me!  (Unless you value pocket lint…)

IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE…

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***~*~From The Last Chapter…*~*~**

"Yup…it'll be difficult, but we'll help you Sakura!" Kero tried to look energetic, but failed utterly.

"NO, Kero, you look exhausted, I want you to wait right here.  What use are you going to be if you get heat stroke?  Please just stay here where it's safe!" Although Kero protested many times, it was to no avail, and in the end, he had to content himself with watching the battle from the shade of the tree.

Finally ready, Sakura stepped forward, with Syaoran behind her on one side and Eriol on the other.  The fight for the Sun Card had begun.

***~*~Continuing With Syaoran*~*~**

The three of them stood that way for a few minutes, wondering what the card would do.  Syaoran could see that Sakura was deep in thought…_probably worrying about how she's going to capture it_…Taking a step closer to her, he gave her a quick hug from behind and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Sakura.  We'll do this together."

***~*~Sakura*~*~**

Sakura was completely bewildered; she had no clue what she was supposed to do.  The card wasn't directly attacking them, and she couldn't very well attack something that she couldn't see.  As she began thinking what cards could possibly help her, Syaoran stepped up behind her and gave her a quick hug.  Sakura was shocked at first; after all, Syaoran really wasn't the type of person to just go around hugging people.  

"Don't worry Sakura.  We'll do this together."

_Oh, he's sooooo sweet…he always knows just what I need to hear…_

Blushing and smiling gently, she turned to him and whispered, "Arigato Syao-kun."  As usual, the nickname made his cheeks turn red, resulting in two blushing, stuttering fools where the Card Mistress and the future leader of the Li Clan had once stood. 

Eriol just eyed the two with raised eyebrows for a few seconds, finally clearing his throat and saying loudly, "Now, if you two are QUITE finished, can we please move on to more important things?  Namely the capturing of this CARD???"

After each of the lovebirds had muttered something in the way of, "oh, yeah, right….", the group continued staring out at the park, waiting for something to happen.

Sakura was getting frustrated.  It was no fun just standing there in the boiling heat, watching the sweat drip off her nose and waiting for something to happen.  Finally, she called out, "Sun Card, SHOW YOURSELF!"

Immediately, a man appeared.  He looked to be around 21; young and energetic.  He was tall and athletic looking, with bronzed skin that radiated light.  He was dressed simply in a toga and sandals, but he had a glorious sort of crown on; it was gold, and went around his head with long spikes sticking out, looking like the suns' rays.  He was, in short, gorgeous.

"Well, that worked well…I should have tried that earlier…" mumbled Sakura, staring at the being before her with wonder and awe.

"He looks like something out of a Greek mythology book," Syaoran answered, eyeing their opponent with a skeptical look.

"Well, many of these Cards' powers have a basis in mythology, and so many of them look Grecian because of that," replied Eriol.  The Sun Card held up his hands, and a gleaming gold ball of energy began to form.  "More on that later, though, I think we should get moving!" said Eriol hastily, ready to run if that energy ball should come their way.

Which, of course, it did.  The three scattered as the huge ball of energy came crashing towards them, tearing up the pavement and burning the grass.  Sakura looked up from where she had thrown herself, and, seeing the being looking straight back at her, got shakily to her feet.  _Hoe…Kero sure wasn't kidding when he said that these cards are more powerful…I've never seen a ball of pure energy that big before…_

Trying to quickly think of which card to use, Sakura's hand landed on the Watery Card.  Calling out the spirit, she watched as the Sun card was enclosed in a sphere of water.

With a huge grin on her face, Sakura shouted, "YES!  Haha, I've gotcha now!"

Suddenly, however, the entire sphere evaporated as the heat became too great, and the golden being re-emerged, looking only slightly less brilliant than before.

Sakura's face fell as she looked on, and she shouted to Syaoran, "NOW what?"

Syaoran was concentrating on the Sun card, however, which seemed to be doing something…the being was muttering under his breath, with his long, shimmering arms thrown out palms-up before him.  Huge amounts of light, heat, and energy began to flow through his fingers into him, as Sakura, Syaoran, and Eriol looked on, unsure of what to do.  The Suns' head suddenly snapped up, and he looked straight into Sakura's eyes.  Sakura merely stared back, as though transfixed, and she began to slowly loose concentration…the heat was finally getting to her.  Without her realizing it, the Card let go all the energy and heat he had been gathering, and it formed into a column, smashing down upon Sakura.

***~*~Syaoran*~*~**

"SAKURA!"  Syaoran watched as Sakura was thrown to the ground, trapped under all the energy.  Running towards the column, he lowered his head and charged, trying to get inside.  Instead, he smashed straight into the side of the column, with nothing more than a stinging head to show for his efforts.  Powerless to get her out, he watched as Sakura struggled to stand, but he could see that the weight from the column was almost too much for her to bear.

_I need to help her!  But how am I supposed to get her out…_tearing at his hair in frustration, Syaoran looked up to where the Sun card was hovering a few feet above the ground.  Suddenly, Syaoran glanced over at Eriol, who looked as though he too was deep in thought, desperately trying to figure out a way to get Sakura out.  Running over, Syaoran panted, "Eriol! I think I've got an idea!"

Eriol looked up at Syaoran anxiously.  "What?"

"Well, we just need to stop the card long enough for Sakura to capture it.  My magic isn't strong enough on it's own, and neither is yours, but maybe if we both attacked it together…"

"I've thought of that already, but I still don't think it would be strong enough!"

By this point, Syaoran looked almost crazy with worry.  "Well, we've got to try!  I'm not going to stand by and watch Sakura get pounded by pretty-boy over there.  If you won't help me, I'll do it myself!" Here Syaoran looked back to Eriol.  "Unless you've got a better idea?"

"No…alright then, but we can't attack it separately!  We have to combine our powers, or this won't do any good!"  Concentrating, each one began to summon up all their power, and between them, green and blue powers combined to create something much stronger than either of them had imagined.  Channeling their combined energy into a combination of spells, they glanced once at each other before sending their spell straight at the unsuspecting Sun Card. 

"That's one thing about the Sun Card," panted Eriol, as he fought to keep up the spell, "he was always rather cocky…he had figured that he had won already, and hadn't anticipated this at all!" he finished, nodding his head to indicate their spell.

It was true that this new power had come as a complete shock to the Card.  The initial force pushed him right out of the air, and as his concentration slipped, so did the column that was holding Sakura.  Weakly, she managed to crawl out from under it, and looked over to where the boys were struggling to maintain their attack against the card.  Though they had caught it by surprise, the being had gotten over his initial shock quickly, and was struggling against the spell while at the same time preparing for a counter-attack.

_We won't be able to keep this up for much longer…but is Sakura strong enough to seal the card?_  Syaoran glanced over to Sakura, taking in her battered, tired looking form, and the exhausted expression in her emerald eyes.  _She's got to be…we'll all die if she isn't!_

"Sakura!  Hurry up and seal the card, while it's defenses are down!" yelled Syaoran.  A quick glance told him that the card wouldn't be vulnerable for long; they only had a few more seconds…

Sakura's voice, though weak, broke through his thoughts.  "Sun Card! Return to your powers confined!"

Vaguely, Syaoran sensed that something was wrong…very, VERY wrong.  Nothing seemed to be happening.  Momentarily taking his concentration off of the card that Eriol and himself were still attacking, he glanced at Sakura.  She was standing with her wand held in front of her, the seal visible beneath her feet.  There was, however, no card being formed at the end of her wand; no powers zipping towards her; nothing.  _Oh, no…I don't know what the hell is going on, but this can't be good…_

***~*~Sakura…again*~*~**

Oh, oooowwww…I really hurt… Sakura crawled feebly out from under the column of energy, looking around her to see why she had suddenly been able to get away…momentarily, at least.  Glancing over to Syaoran, she saw an amazing sight…Syaoran and Eriol had combined their powers, and were attacking the card with full force.  Wow…they're working together…will the wonders never cease… 

"Sakura!  Hurry up and seal the card, while it's defenses are down!"  Syaoran's voice cut through her thoughts, and she forced herself to stand up.  She raised her wand and shouted, in the loudest voice she could muster, "Sun Card! Return to your powers confined!"

And then there was silence.  The absence of the usual swishing noise as power got sucked into the form of a card was the first thing Sakura noticed, and opening her eyes, she looked around, shocked.  Nothing had happened.  Sakura looked on dumbly, her mouth eventually falling open, and her arms still outstretched, clutching her staff.  Once the power of movement returned to her startled limbs, she spun in a slow circle, looking around her as if surprised that everything around her remained the same, while she was in such turmoil.

I…I don't understand…what happened? Why didn't it work?  Hoe…what am I supposed to do know?  How the hell are we gonna capture this card?!

Utterly lost and bewildered, she instinctively turned and looked at Syaoran, who looked just as shocked as she did.  Their eyes communicated the confusion that they weren't able to express in words, from pure astonishment. 

Slowly regaining a sense of the situation, each of them glanced towards the being, and then towards Eriol, who had been straining this whole time to keep up the attack against the Card.  Eriol, despite his confusion, had realized that, if they dropped their attack, Syaoran and himself would be burnt to a crisp in a matter of moments.

Suddenly, however, the Card stopped attacking.  The power sent by Eriol and Syaoran hit him hard, and he swayed under its' power.  Seeing that he was making no move to block them however, and since they really didn't know what to do by know, the boys stopped their attack, falling to the ground with fatigue.

Running over, Sakura fell to her knees next to them.  "Are you two alright?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Eriol and Syaoran both simply nodded, too tired and stunned to do much more.  This was one of the most difficult battles any of them had faced, and along with the extreme drain they were all experiencing from using their powers so much, (or being attacked for so long, as was Sakura's case) the heat was as intense as ever.  All of them were beginning to be slightly dizzy, and, looking at each other, they all knew that they couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Sakura looked over to the Card, which was once again floating a few feet above the ground.  As it had the two previous times, it locked eyes with Sakura, and suddenly she found herself floating as well, though rather higher than she was really comfortable with.

Tired beyond her wildest dreams, Sakura did not struggle against the card, unsure of what it wanted. _What more could you possibly want with me?  I can't capture you; I've tried already.  So why do you insist on continuing to mess with ME?_

Calling upon the jump card, Sakura hovered high in the air under the influence of the being in front of her, ready to merely jump off the ground in safety if the card were to drop her.  What happened next, however, was the last thing that she expected.

***~*~Syaoran again*~*~         **

Sitting on the grass and panting, Syaoran had no idea what to do.  _We aren't strong enough to continue attacking the card, and even if we were, it wouldn't matter since Sakura can't capture it!_  Lost in his thoughts, he was completely unprepared when Sakura, who had been sitting by his side, suddenly floated off the ground at the command of the card.  Yelping in surprise, Syaoran got hastily to his feet, standing below Sakura in the hope of catching her if she were to fall.  _After all, she's so tired that I wouldn't be surprised if she lost control of the Jump card and did end up just falling…and why is this guy still picking on Sakura???_

All of a sudden, a huge force shot out of the Sun Card and collided with Sakura.  Multiple balls of energy came pelting at her from all directions, one right after the other, and being held in midair under the Card's control, she was powerless to escape the onslaught.  

Down below, Syaoran watched in horror as Sakura, unable to move, kept being battered by their opponent.  His fury mounted, watching the one he loved being beaten so relentlessly, until it finally overtook him.  Hardly realizing what he was doing, Syaoran called out his sword, pointed it at the Card, and shouted, "SUN CARD! RETURN TO YOUR POWERS CONFINED!"  A seal appeared beneath his feet, with the Sun in the center and the other eight planets arranged around it.  At the tip of his sword, a card began to form, looking much like the Clow Cards, except that it had a dark blue border.  The being, which only two seconds before had been attacking Sakura, was swept into the card, and sealed in the blink of an eye.  Syaoran reached out, took the card, and then looked up to where Sakura had just begun to fall.  Stepping deftly underneath her, he caught her in his arms, and walked quietly over to where Tomoyo {SS: remember her? =D} and Kero still sat under the tree.  

Now that the card had been caught, of course, sitting under the tree was pointless; all was dark again, and the moon shone brightly down upon them.  A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees, and the cool night air felt wonderful against their cheeks. 

Stopping in front of the tree, Syaoran gently lowered Sakura to the grass, cushioning her head in his lap as Tomoyo and Kero stared, dumbfounded, at him.  They seemed unable to do anything else, sitting still as statues with their mouths hanging open and obvious bewilderment in their eyes. Syaoran, however, hardly noticed; he was much too concerned with the still, silent body lying before him.  Taking Sakura's wrist gently into his own, he felt for a heartbeat, carefully masking the frantic worry that was building up inside of him.

_Please don't be dead, Sakura…you CAN'T be dead!_  {SS: Of course not, because it's only chapter 3!  But I'm not promising anything in the future…}

Relief coursed through his body as, after an unsure, tense, moment, he felt it; her heartbeat was faint and weak, but it was there, nonetheless.  A slight smile spread over his face as he whispered, "You'll be alright, Sakura…just hang in there."

***~*~Sakura*~*~**

_Everything is dark…so dark.  And yet, I'm dizzy…it feels like my head is spinning.  _Sakura kept her eyes closed as she slowly surfaced from the realm of unconsciousness, letting her senses come back one by one.  The first thing she noticed was the smell…she wasn't outside anymore.  Wherever she was smelled…_like sandalwood, and autumn_.  Next, she noticed the sounds…or lack thereof.  Everything was silent, but in a peaceful way.  She then moved, just a bit, and felt something silky and soft against her skin, gently cocooning her in warmth and comfort.  Finally curious to know where she was, Sakura opened her eyes slowly…only to have her gaze met by a pair of warm tawny orbs.  

"Hey sleepyhead," whispered Syaoran, looking down at her.  "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda dizzy, actually…but I'll be fine," she replied, smiling up at him.  "Syaoran?"

"Hmmm?"

"Where am I?"

Syaoran's gaze faltered slightly, as he replied, "You're at my apartment, Sakura…it was the closest place to the park, and since you're supposed to be spending the night at Tomoyo's anyway, we figured your father wouldn't worry…"

"Oh…where are the others?"

"Eriol and Tomoyo went back home, though it took about 2 hours to convince Tomoyo that you'd be fine," Syaoran replied, smiling at the memory of how worried she had been for her friend.  "They really couldn't do anything else for you, since you were asleep."

Choosing to ignore the fact that she was seemingly alone with Syaoran in his apartment in the middle of the night, Sakura asked, "and Kero?"

"Kero's sleeping downstairs…after he raided my fridge, he just sort of collapsed in a heap on the couch…I think the heat really drained him, what with all that fluff he's got."

Sakura smiled slightly, thinking about her little guardian.  Remembering the nights' events, however, her smile slowly disappeared, and a confused frown took its place.  "Syaoran, what happened with the card?  I passed out while he was still attacking me…I didn't want to, because I knew that would be failing everybody, but I just couldn't take it anymore…he was too powerful for me…"

"Sakura!  It's not your fault at all, don't blame yourself!"  His amber eyes held gentle chastisement, and he gazed at her worriedly.  "You always think of others before yourself…The card was almost too powerful for all of us combined.  We're out of practice…"

Syaoran was silent for some minutes, staring off into space as though it would hold the answers to all his problems.

"Syaoran…"

"Sorry…guess I got lost there for a minute…Sakura, I'm not really sure what happened after you passed out.  I just sort of lost it, seeing you getting hurt so badly…I…." Suddenly his voice dropped to a whisper, as he raised his eyes to her and said, 

"**I** captured the card."

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            Yay!  After putting off finishing this chapter for, oh, *checks calendar* about 6 months, I finally did it!  YAY FOR ME!  I just got soooo busy with work and swim and I know I'm making excuses and I'M SORRY!  I swear I'll try to post regularly from now on.  So, if you're interested in reading this story without 6 month gaps between chapters, I just want to reassure you that that will now be possible.  I'm not promising speedy postings; probably about every 2 weeks or so.  But hopefully, I'll have the next chapter out by Sunday, since I'm on break right now.  So, remember the ever-important golden commandment: REVIEW!  And thank you all; you've been a great audience.  Good Night!


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